Lockdown Broadband Problems

8.5million UK households suffer from work and schooling disruption because of internet connection problems during Covid-19 lockdown, research says.

17:33 02 August 2020

A recent study from Quadient has revealed that as many as 8.5million UK households have suffered from internet connection problems during the Covid-19 lockdown. As consumer reliance on broadband has increased now that many people work and study from home, internet outages now have a far more serious impact on the lives of consumers. Internet problems keep users from doing their job or school work and many are also cut off from their friends and family members who are self-isolating. 

 

Quadient said that outages change what consumers think the most important when in the market for a service provider. It found that the most important quality consumers look for in their home broadband provider is service reliability, with cost not far behind. 

 

John Hoggard, principal, global utilities and telco at Quadient, said: "When a service is this important, providers must deal with any connection issues quickly and effectively - and the customer experience plays a key role. With many people still remaining at home, it's likely the number of connection problems and customer support requests will remain high. 

 

"Making sure obligations to existing customers are not overlooked while new services are developed, and giving consumers access to all the tools they need to provide prompt service and clear, timely communications, will be essential in retaining customer confidence and ensuring telcos can meet the expectations placed on them."